Chattanooga needed 13 innings and three different players to have four hits in the game, but the Lookouts came out on top in an absolutely wild contest on Friday night. Louisville also went into extra-innings to start their weekend, but they fell in 10 innings in St. Paul.
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The Louisville Bats lost 7-6 in 10. Box Score
- Daniel Duarte (rehab) threw a hitless inning with a walk and 2 strikeouts.
- Michael Siani went 2-5 with a run.
- Lorenzo Cedrola went 2-4.
- Juniel Querecuto went 0-3 with 2 walks, a steal, and a run.
- Cristian Santana went 1-4 with a home run (11), 2 runs, and 3 RBI.
- Leonardo Rivas went 0-3 with 2 walks and a run.
- Michael De Leon went 2-4 with a double, walk, and a run.
- Eric Yang went 1-4 with an RBI.
- Isiah Gilliam went 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI.
- Pedro Garcia threw a shutout inning with a walk and 2 strikeouts.
- Robert Dugger threw 2.0 shutout innings with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts.
- Matt Pidich threw a shutout inning.
- Ryan Nutof threw 1.1 hitless innings with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts.
The Chattanooga Lookouts won 13-12 in 13. Box Score
- Elly De La Cruz went 4-7 with a walk, double, triple, steal (47), 2 runs, and 2 RBI.
- Matt McLain went 1-5 with a double, 3 walks, a steal (26), 2 runs, and 3 RBI.
- Christian Encarnacion-Strand went 4-7 with a walk, home run (31), and 4 RBI.
- Allan Cerda went 1-6 with a walk.
- Rece Hinds went 4-7 with a triple, home run (12), and 2 RBI.
- Garrett Wolforth went 1-5 with a run.
- Daniel Vellojin went 1-6 with a walk.
- Jacob Hurtubise went 1-3 with a walk, steal (16), 5 runs, and he was hit by 2 pitches.
- Spencer Stockton threw 2.2 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts.
9/17 Game Preview
| Team | Record | Time (ET) | Probable | Box Score | Listen | Watch |
| Louisville | 56-83 | 8:07pm | Lively | Here | Here | Here |
| Chattanooga | 60-74 | 7:15pm | Abbott | Here | Here | Here |
| Dayton | 67-61 | Season | Complete | Here | Here | Here |
| Daytona | 54-75 | Season | Complete | Here | Here | N/A |
| ACL Reds | 32-19 | Season | Complete | Here | N/A | N/A |
| DSL Reds |
24-26 | Season | Complete | Here | N/A | N/A |
Lookouts with 22 Ks in a game they won. Could be a record.
My goodness, cerda and vellohon need to go back to Arizona complex league baseball and learn how to make contact. When I was coaching I would never have allowed a kid to keep striking out that much without some serious time in the batting cage with a coach. Good grief. Take your profession a little more seriously!
You thinking they have not is funny.
A lot of Cerda’s strikeouts are looking. At least 2 of them last night were, and that’s a consistent pattern with him.
Hey Eyeballs, great stuff.
Knowing that it is AA and the biggest jump, maybe seeing consistent curveballs for the first time, could some of the looking be just that? Learning to hit a curveball?
I don’t remember who said it a few weeks ago on the broadcast (Welch?) but the comment was “you learn to hit a curveball by learning to take a curveball.”
This was in relation to the continuing education of AA and Barrero. And I think that it is starting to register with Aquino.
I have not seen Cerda at all, but assume he will get this same baptism by curveball
Former Reds farmhand David Vidal once told me AA was tougher because during an at bat you never see the same pitch twice. In High A and below if you missed a certain pitch during an at bat chances were you would see it again during that at bat. It was a tough transition David never really could survive.
@Reagan: I think it’s most off-speed stuff, not just curves. His struggles with lefties are largely due to issues with changeups.
But Cerda also has an easily fixable habit that should cut it down a bit as to strike 3: he’s one of those tall guys who bends into a weird semi-crouch when he takes low pitches and thereby frames them to be strikes. At least one of the strikeouts last night was that, and I’ve seen it more than a handful of times with him.
Hinds and EDLC shy of one hit to the cycle, Hinds missed a double and EDLC missed a homer…
The farm system teams have kept a lead to the final three innings in a lot of games but the bullpen blew it out… Chattanooga had many chances to walk it off early in the game but were incredibly unable to score…
Encarnacion-Strand ending the season very strong… He is heading AAA next season..
Yep, not a reach that 4 of those guys (EDL, CES, Hinds and McClain) may be in the Reds starting lineup in a couple years.
Elly had two games in Dayton where he was one hit from a cycle. One game it was just a single.
Worth nothing McClain had big double in OT that drove in 2 and made it a 1 run game. Guy is clutch which may not be obvious looking at box scores.
Anyone think Christian-Strand has a chance to start for the Reds at 1B in 2023?
Same question for De La Cruz in CF ?
Does Roa or Stoudt or Phillips join the rotation in 2023?
In 2024 does Hinds become the starting 3B and Marti the starting SS? Perhaps this is why the two of them are headed to Arizona?
I think Hinds was moved to the OF to minimize injury risk. I think Marte at SS is a real possibility. I could be completely wrong, but I think Barrero is plan A, Marte is plan B, and Arroyo is plan C.
I think EDLC and McLain will be called up in 23 while they are still figuring out if plan A is going to work or not. Maybe CF for EDLC and a corner OF for McLain or 2B/3B.
No on all of that. Hinds and McLain are going to AZ because they missed a lot of time with injuries. Marte is new to org.
CES needs AAA. De La Cruz is a fabulous prospect, but he’s not that close. He needs work from the right side in particular, but if you put him in MLB right now he might literally strike out 45% of the time. He also will be able to handle infield, but only with time. The error last night was trying to make a hero play, and got the glove bit. He then threw it away off balance when he should have eaten it – dude was very fast and would have been safe anyway. But that type of error goes away with experience. He also made a couple plays that many guys don’t. But most of all, don’t try to teach a guy a new position at MLB level when he’s already going to face a steep curve at the plate. That’s a recipe for ruining him.
Stoudt is the closest of those pitchers. Phillips is 75% likely to be a reliever in my view. Too bad given the velo and two legit secondaries, but the command just looks too weak to me for it realistically to get him enough length to start. Roa has had like 3 starts in AA.
No reason to push guys. The MLB club isn’t going to compete next year. Don’t ruin good prospects by putting them in over their heads.
Depending on Hinds’ showing in AZ, he could start 2023 in AAA. McLain, CES, and EDLC as well. Siani and McGarry are already there. With a strong start in Chattanooga, Cerda/Vellojin could end up in AAA over the summer. A lot of interesting folks to follow knocking on GABP’s door next season.
In 2024 it’s possible that Siani, EDLC, McClain, CES, Hinds and Marte could be joining Stephenson, Steer & India in the starting lineup.
How does this look for a starting lineup in 2024
India, 2b
Steer, 3b
EDLC, ss
Stephenson, c
CES, 1b
Marte, rf
Hinds, DH
McLain, lf
Siani, cf
I really like the potential of this lineup. Thoughts of any changes in the batting order? Positions? Anyone that should be replaced and with who?
Fraley has an .858 OPS vs right handed pitching this year and is just entering his prime years. He’s definitely part of the future plans for the ball club and should be starting in the 70ish % games the reds go against righties
I personally think Marte is a mid 2024 call up and I don’t think it’s anywhere close to time to write Barrero off. Using your lineup though I’d slimply move McLain to CF and start Fraley in a corner
@Bdh, I definitely agree with you that Fraley deserves to be in against rhp. You are probably correct about Marte being a mid season call up but respectfully will disagree about Barrero. If he is the ss then EDLC should go to instructional league to play an of portion and play there 3 games a week in AAA in 2023. I just believe offensively there is better OF positional players with EDLC playing at SS.
It would be great if Siani continues to improve in 2023 like he did in 2022 even if it would be as a 4th OF in 2024. It’s a good problem to have.
Agree it’s a great problem to have. Excited to see it all play out. In the end I think all of us reds fans will be happy
Some observations from Chattanooga last night. Got tickets through Jacob Hurtibise because of a connection. He has a great family and from what I understand, he is a great kid. Wish him nothing but the best. Great speed and a solid arm from left field. Thought for a second Almost threw out a runner at 2nd base on what normally is a routine double. For a second, I thought he might have hit his first career pro home run with a drive to right center. Fell just short and he ended up hitting a triple. Didn’t take him long to get there.
Elly’s triple was electric. He went the other way right over the 1st base bag and hit the jets immediately. His sprint was like looking at an Olympic athlete shot out of a cannon. I like his field presence. He has an awareness that many players don’t have. He really seems to be a good teammate and leader on the field. Very excited to see him in Cincy.
Rece Hinds triple was also very interesting. It was to left center close to the outfielder at the wall. His shot would normally have been a double but he has surprising speed and aggressively turned it into a triple. He definitely is a 50+ runner. He also has a very competitive nature and you can see he cares about winning.
Phillips has a great arm for not a very big guy but seemed to be overthrowing and hit 98 at least once. He seemed to do better when he dialed it down a bit.
CES is just a hitter. I have no doubts that he will hit well at the next two levels. He is a solidly built young man and you can tell he gets his power from his strong hips and legs.
+1 on all of this.
That was a heck of a game. Randy, I don’t know if you stayed the whole time, but that was one of the stranger endings I’ve seen, with a position player pitching in a tie game.
For what it’s worth, I also thought Hurtubise’s triple was going out. I’ve met him in person in a non-baseball context and he’s a good guy. Given the background, not surprising that he is more polished socially than most guys his age, but he did leave a positive impression.
I also had a fairly long conversation with Andrew Abbott’s father, who was there last night and approached me based about something not directly baseball-related. Another good family and nice people – both father and son.
No, I took off before the last inning. Listened to Larry Ward on the radio the rest of the way back home (25 minute drive) though. Crazy ending. I did see tonight’s game in its entirety.
We will have to catch a game some time next season and chat baseball as real fans.
Possible 2024 just in the Reds system
C – Stephenson
1B – Encarnacion-Strand
2B – India
SS – Barrero
3B – Steer
LF – Fraley
CF – McLain
RF – De La Cruz
DH – McGarry
B – Vellojin or Free – C
B – Lopez or Johnson – UT
B – Hopkins – OF
B – Friedl or Siani – OF
Still have Marte, Hinds, Arroyo, Collier, Hunter, etc. coming behind them
I think you have all of the right pieces, some are out of place from my prognostications, but all very reasonably positioned. I’m also kinda hoping Marte shoots up a bit quicker than a mid 24 arrival, only time will tell.
Question for anyone who has any insight. Is Hurtubise’s speed unique aka Billy Hamilton like, or more just normal fast.
No. Not many are in Billy Hamilton range, not even Elly. Elly is probably a click faster than Hurtubise.
Normal-fast. 65 on a scouting scale. A little faster than Siani, but not as fast as De La Cruz. Hurtubise is an excellent baserunner, so it plays up, but the raw speed is nowhere near Hamilton.
Thanks guys, that’s good info. I wish I could see statcast like data on our minor leaguers, but I can’t find anything online. I think Doug said they use Trackman.
The main reason I posed that question I posed that question was, I want the Reds to have a guy with a ++ tool as their 26th man. Speed is my top ++ talent desire for the 26th man, since speed doesn’t slump. It’s tough to get 13 men regular AB’s, but a pinch runner in a close game can be a big help.
If that’s your desire, Hurtubise would actually be a reasonable fit. He’s more plus than plus-plus (De La Cruz is a legit 70 speed, to compare), but he also is more than capable at all three outfield positions and is a decent base-stealer. But he’d be nearly Terrance Gore level in terms of utility at the plate and he’s not that fast. (Put it like this: when he’s running, teams notice and make adjustments; when it’s Siani or especially Elly, the speed forces errors and mental mistakes.)
I don’t think that’s likely the direction the team goes – they seem to really like the power tool, and he’s as bottom-of-the-scale power-wise as possible – but I’ve been disappointed in how little playing time he’s gotten this season.
My thinking is not only are mlb teams carrying an extra player, but pinch hit situations are down due to the DH. I don’t want a team that works in 4 bench bats to keep them fresh, 1 OF 1 U, 1 C. So is a 4th and probably rusty bat more valuable than a guy who could win a few games a year with his legs? I don’t know the answer, but that’s what I’ve been pondering.